Soft-rubber plug and socket body



Aug, 13, 1929. F. w. HUDSON SOFT RUBBER PLUG AND SOCKET BODY Filed Feb. 23, 1928 LA}. v E

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- AT oRNEY I Patented-Aug. 13, 1929.

- 'UNITTEQDTSTAT'ES, PATE rm w. HUDBQN, or

mom-"ice.

SAN IMG 1800, CALIFORNIA, ABSIGNOB '10 JACK L. ADAMS, OF SAN IRAHCISQO, CALIFORNIA.

' soar-RUBBER PLUG 4m) socxnr Bon'r. Application ma February as, 1928. 8crial in. $56,882.

nussu n This invention resides in the provision of unbreakable plug and socket'fittings which are adapted for attachment to the terminals of electrical conductors, the said fittin s being constructed of soft, elastic materia such as rubber, and arranged whereby'the contact elements which form the plug and socket devices together with the terminals of the electrical conductors may be readily and easily 10 incorporated therewith. This will provide unbreakable plugand socket devices which will be waterproof and much more desirable than the present popular types of plug and socket construction wherein the bodies of these constructions are made of hard brittle substances. 4

An object of the invention is to provide soft rubber'plug and socket fittings or bodies which are adapted for connection to the ends of rubber encased conductor cords in.such manner that the cord, including the plug and socket fittings are virtually aone piece construction but subject to ready and easy disassembling in order to repair and renew parts of the lug and socket constructions case of brea age or derangement of any of the parts. Such disassembling may be satisfactorily accomplished, for example,-by witha soft, resilient rub Furthermore, conductor cords of this type must be factory made and when once made up cannot be disassembled and the parts thereof used a in in order to'provide longer or shorter cor s. e In other Words, these cords 1 cannot be made on the job to suit the particular requirements at hand. By providing plug and socket bodies of er molded into particular form and shape in accordance with this invent1on, I secure all of the advantages of the above disclosed types of rubber plug and socket devices without an of the above mentioned disadvantages an with many'added advantages. The rubber plug and socket fittings of this invention are capable of bein read1 y and easil made up into plugs an sockets and join to conductor cords of various lengths on the job to suit the particu lar requirements of the work. The conduc torsmade with the device of this invention do not have to be assembled at factories or other like places, inasmuch as the molding of the rubber bodies around the conductors and contact elements is not required. The plug and socket rubber fittings of this in- :vention have passages and recesses formed therein at the time of the molding of the drawing the ends of-said rubber encased confittings. The assa es and recesses are of 30 ductor cords,v together with their terminal fittings, from the soft rubber bodies. A further object is to provide soft rubber plug and socket members of the character described which make possible the making 35 up of electrical conductor cords of various lengths as desired, to suit the particular job or work in a much easier and more 'eifectivemanner than is now possible with the type of equipment at present generally 40 employed.

I am awareof plug and socket construe tions 'for electrical conductor cords in which the plug and sockets are composed of soft :rubber enlargements or bodies molded onto 4 the ends of conductors and around the contact elements which comprise the plug and socket devices. This type of construction does not permit of repair of the plug and socket parts inasmuch as said parts are molded in the soft rubber bodies in such manner that said bodies have to be torn apart and destroyed in order to gain access i to the conductors and contact elements.

a nature such t at t e'plug and socket contact elements may be readily and easily fitted into place therem' and will remain in place, due to the resiliency of the rubber bodies and the gripping action-afforded thereb The incorporation of the conductor cords with said odies is eifected in like manner. In both instances, these bodies are stretched to accommodate the contact members and conductors so that when these elements are in place in the bodies, they will be securely gripped and held in-the pre-formed passages and recesses, but are, however, subject to being removed for the purpose of repair and renewing the parts and connections which may become broken,

With the above mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in the 100 novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter'described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and set forth in the claims hereto appen ed,'it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion,

size and minor detailsv of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without de arting from the s irit or sacrificin any 0 the advantages 0 'the invention. ferring to the drawings: Fig. 1 represents a side e evation ofa soft rubber socket fitting constructed accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 represents a sectional view taken on the plane of line 22 of Fig. 1 showing one of t 'e steps required to connect the conductors with the socket body.

Fig. 3 represents a sectional view similar to Fig." 2 but showing the finished construction with the socket contact elements and conductors in place and an electric light bulb screwed into the socket.

Fig. 4 represents a side elevation of a plug constructed in accordance with the inven- ;tion showing it attached to conductor terminals.

Fig. 5 represents a vertical sectional view of. the rubber body with the contact elements .removed but showing the means and method of incorporating the contacts and conductors with said body.

Fig. 6 represents a vertical sectional view of th; plug of the invention as when comete p Fig. 7 represents a top plan view of the plug body with the contactelements assemled, showing the openings in one end of the plug body through whichthe contact elements extend.-

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the plane of line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a crosssectional view taken on the plane of line 9-9 of Fig. 6.

In carrying out the invent on I provide pl1 1g and socket body members of soft comressible and resilient rubber which members are molded so as to provide recesses and passages therein, which recesses and passages will permit of the incorporation and the holding of contact elements and electrical conductors therewith in an easy and. expeditious manner.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, the socket body member made in accordance with this invention comprises a soft rubber socket-like body portion -1, from the closed end of which a tubular soft rubber extension .2 projects, said extension being several inc es or more in length ral with the socket dy portion 1 The closed end of the body portion 1 is rounded and tapered so as to merge with the tubular extension-2, which latter is tapered towards its outer end so that it increases as to flexibilit towards its free end. This plug body an extension are, of course, molded so that the finished product will be soft, oompressible and highly resilient, and will have re-formed recesses and passages of a definite shape. The mold means also provides for the formation of small, narrow passages and formed integ- 3 and 4 extendin from the inner end of the I bore 5 of the tu ular extension 2 throu h the bod -1 into the socket space rovided by the b0 y.. The annular wall 0? the socket space 1 is rovided with screw threads 6 formed in t e molding of the entire fitting, and a de ression 7 is formed in the bottom of the soc et s ace in the same manner. The

passage 3 lea s to the center of thedepression, the passage 4 to the edge of the depression. 7 The electrical conductors 7 are stripped of their insulation so as to leave them bare and exposed for a considerable length, and these bare portions or terminals of the conductors are .extended into the tubular member 5, andthrough the passages 3 and 4, then up through the socket space of the body, where the may. be grasped and pulled'upward in or erto bring the unbared portions of the conductors into the tubular extension 2 to the extent, for example, as shown in Fig. 3. The conductorcord is selected so that. with the covering thereon as indicated at'8, it may be caused to fit snugly in the bore 5 of the tubular extension 2, the rubber bein conductor, t ereby insuring a tight gripping of the conductor.

. It is preferable to employ rubber encased stretched to-accommodate the w conductor cords and when used, a better fit.

is provided and the finished cord will have the appearance of a one-piece rubber construction. After the conductors are pulled into place as shown in Fig. 3, their bared terminals are cut off in the desired length. One of the terminals is inserted upward through a tubularbrass contact member 9 mounted in the center of a disk 11 of insulation material, which disk rests in the depression 7. The other terminal is extended. through an opening indicated at 12 in a screw threaded cylindrical socket contact member 13, which latter is mounted in the socket space of the body portionl and cooperates with the screw threads 6. The size of the contact member 13 is such that'thc rubber must be stretchedand placed under tension in order to secure and fit said contact member in lace. Thus, said member will be effective y gripped. The contact member 13 is rovided w1th an inwardly extending ann ar flange 14 at its inner end, which flange supports the insulation disk 11 and comes into such frictional contact with the depression 7 that it assists in preventing the unintentional rotation or turning of the contact member when an electric light, indicatedat 15, or other electrical appliance, is screwed into or removed from the socket. The terminals of the conductors are preferably soldered to the contact members 9 and 13 and by this arrangement the contact members are additionally anchored in place. The contact member 13 is provided with a passages 23, and extending inwardly said sockets .are similar passages 24 which assist in holdin said contact member against accidental turnm in the rubber body. The socket in .the body portion 1 is preferably of such depth .that there will be provided an annular flexible, soft rubber skirt ortion 16 extending, considerably outward yond the outer end of the contact member 13 so that it may be engaged with the electr c light 15 or other electricalappliance screwed into the socket, to form a tight joint and to provide a waterproof; connection, this being particularly illustrated in Fig. 3. In drawmg the conductors through the passages 3 and 4, any suitable fishing tool such as a wire as shown in Fig. 5, may be employed. The openings and passages adapted to accommodate the contact'members and conductors are smaller than the contact members and conductors'so thatthe rubber of the body is stretched considerably in forcing and fitting the contact members and conductors in place. This causes the contact members and conductors to be effectively gripped and held in place without destroying the resiliency, soft-- ness and compressibility of the rubber body. All of the non-resilient, hard portions of the plug of this invention such as the contact members 13 and diskll, and the bared portions of the conductorsare completely covered'andprotected by the soft rubber body. Thus if the socket ofthis invention is forci bly thrown against a hard object or dropped,

no, breakage or damage tothe parts will take place. Should it become necessary to replace a contact member of the-socket or'to fix a disconnected terminal. in anyway, the parts may be readilv removed without damaging the rubber body and new parts readily and easilyput in as well as new connections made. It will thus be seen that the socket of this invention may be readily disassembled 'or taken off of a cord and a longer or shorter cord may be quickly and easily attached as desired.

Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive show the rubber plug fitting of this invention in the form of'a solid rubber body portion 18, made up of soft, compressible, resilient rubber and having a tubular extension 19 corresponding to the extension 2 of the socket body member, said extension increasing in flexibility towards its free end, due to its being tapered. The body 18 is molded so that there will be formed interiorly thereof, socketsor recesses 20 and 21 for rece tion of the usual type of plug contact members 22. Extending from these sockets or recesses out through one end of the .plug, are narrow slit-like openings or rom lead into the bore 25 of the tubular extension. In assembling the plug, a wire 26 is doubled and the ends inserted downward through the slit-like openings 23, the sockets to draw the contact members 22 through:

the bore 25, passages 24, and into the sockets 21 in. such manner that the said contact fs'members will extend outward from the plug body through the slit-like openings 23, the wires or conductors 28 being drawn into the assa ges 24 as shown in Fig. 6. The rub-' ercasing 29 for the conductor cord, is drawn into the bore 25 of the tubular extension with a ti ht fit after it has been trimmed back to fit said bore, as indicated in Fig. 6. This method of assembling is quick and effective, and reliable. The portions of the body accommodating the inserted parts are stretched in order to accommodate said parts so that they are securely gripped and held in place. The socket portions 21 are larger than the passages 23 and 24 and accommodate the enlarged portions 31 at the inner ends of the contact members, to which enlarged por-' upward into position. In this way, the consecured prior to the time, they were drawn tact members are securely anchored in the bodyand are gripped and held therein in substantially the same manner as though the body were molded around these contact elements. However, the contact elements,

together with the conductors may be pulled out of'place in order to renew or replacethem as required. It will thus be seen' that the plug of this invention-may be-quickly and easily. fitted onto the terminals of conductor cord. B using the rubber encased conductors, a tig t joint is provided and the cord will have the appearance of being made of a one piece rubber plug. The'plug body is molded so that there is formed a protective soft rubber cylindrical skirt portion 35 which surrounds the plug contact members. This skirt will engage any female element cooperating with the plug so as to form a waterproof joint. If desired it may be folded back as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. The groove 36 provides for an easy bending or folding back of the skirt to leave a fiat end on the outer face of the plug. Due to the tight fit of the contact members and conductors, the plug is made water proof yet the entire plug is soft and compressib e. such that it will not be subjectto cracking or breaking when dropped upon 'or struck against hard objects. The soft so constructed that when the contact mem-.'

contact members and conductors will be gripped and held-in position to properly function. Due to the stretching of the rubher when said contact members and conductors are put in place, and to the resilient gripping action of the rubber, it is unnecessary to employ screws, clamps or any fastening means of an extraneous nature.

'One of the advantages of the invention is that the rubber plug and socket fittings are. salable as comp ete units subject to-'--on the job attachment with conductor'cords whereas other typesof soft-.rubber socket and plug bodies must be assembled and joined to the conductors at the factory with expensive and complicated molds and machinery. Therefore a saving in weight and space, and cost ma be efiectedin shipping the molded units 0 my invention independent of the wire or conductor. In this way standard t pes of wire and cables at hand on the job may be used to provide complete extension cords or cables having the soft rubber terminals. With the other types, special conductors must be used at the factoryto make up the extension cords or cables.

For want of a term which will more aptly eluded type is illustrated in Patent number and specifically describe the female and male terminal elements 13 and 22 respectively, resiliently held in corresponding recesses in the soft rubberbodies, said ter- 1 minal elements have been designated throughout the specification and claims as contact members. It will be understood that this term, while including all substantial equivalents of the terminal elements shown and described, is not so comprehensive as to include the conventional, hard, terminal-containing plug or socket casin of the type which are sometimesfitted wit in recesses or passages of soft rubber protective sheathings. An example of the ex- I claim:

1. A fitting for connection with the terminal of an electrical conductor comprising asoft rubber body member having a pre formed passage therein adapted to detachably receive and hold an electrical conductor of the same general shape but of a'size greater thanthe passage whereby the rub-- ber of the body is stretched and under ten-. sion when the conductor is received in the passage thereof, and said body being provided with a recess communicating with said passage and containing acontact member of a size greater. than the recess.- 2. A terminal fitting for electrical conductor cords-bomprising a soft rubber body member having a preformed passage of nonuniform size extending therethrough, a. contact member 'detachably mounted in a portion of the passage and held against unintentional removal by the gripping action ofthe soft rubber ,of the body, and an electrical conductor connected with the contact member and extending into and bein held in another ortion of the passa e by t e in herent resihency of the rubber body.

3. A. terminal fitting for an electrical conductor comprising a soft rubber body, a recess in one side of said body, -a contact member fitted-within said recess, said contact member being of such size-and shape as to deform the adacent-portions of the soft rubber body, and a; passage leading into another side of said body, said passage being in communication with said recess.

4. A terminal fitting for an electrical conductor, comprising a resilient and deformsaid rubber body to receive the end of an elongated smooth electrical conductor.

5. In the device'defined in claim 4, said passage being uniformly shaped in cross section throughout its length.

6; In the device defined in claim 4:, said resilient body being provided on its recessed side with an integral skirt projecting out- .wardly substantially beyond any'portion of said contact member and adapted to form a receptacle for an electrical attachment, the inner diameter of said'skirt being less at its outer extremity than adjacent said contact member.

7. In the device defined in claim 4, the .recessed'side of said resilient body having a substantially flat surface, and a soft rubber skirt rojecting outwardly from and around 1 saidat surface and substantially beyond 8. A waterproof terminal assembly for an rubber skirt projecting outwardly from said body and beyond the contact members, said skirt having an openend, a soft rubber extension on said body having a tubular passage therein for sealingly and detachably receiving a correspondingly shaped electri-- cal conduit, and additional passages entirely within said body connecting. said recesses with the inner end of said tubular passage. which latter are of larger size than the re- 9. A device of the character described cess and the passage, thereby causing the comprising an electrical conductor, a soft rubber of the body to be stretched and 10 rubber body having a preformed recess and placed under tension, the terminal of said 5 a preformed passage therein receiving a. conductor being'in electrical contact with contact member and a conductor located resaid contact member. 1

spectively in said recess and said passage, FRANK W. HUDSON. 

